Community Owned. Local News. Burke County, NC.
The Paper emailed follow-up questions to the attorneys representing the City of Morganton and Emmanuel Manolakas shortly after the civil court jury found in favor of the restaurant owner. Manolakas's attorney Matthew Rogers did not answer specific questions but did provide a written statement as did Manolakas. The City of Morganton declined to make any comments or provide any statements. Printed here are the statements from Rogers and Manolakas in their entirety.
The past four years have been incredibly hard on Bella Vino, my family and me. Being bullied by City officials intentionally trying to ruin my livelihood has tested my faith and strength. The evidence and jury’s verdict proves the City, Sharon Jablonski, Louis Vinay and (likely) others breached contracts in the course of their malicious attempt to run me out of town. Since January 2023, I’ve been fighting a frivolous eviction action which has taken a tremendous toll on me, my family and Bella Vino. With the grace of God, support of my family and the hard work of my attorney, I’ve been able to survive through these difficult times.
I was disappointed that the jury did not get to consider the defamation, tortious interference and malicious prosecution claims against the City. Governments should not be immune from the kind of misconduct that happened to me. I hope the jury’s verdict shows that the honest people of Burke County won’t stand for the dishonest and disgraceful way the City has treated me.
The City’s misconduct has damaged my and Bella Vino’s reputation. I hope one day I can repair them. If I’m lucky and through honest hard-work, then maybe I can gain the respect of many in this community.
I hope the jury’s verdict will show the City its conduct was despicable, and that it should stop punishing me for doing what is right. I hope the City will agree to pay my attorney fees, and not force me to file further claims against those individuals that tried to ruin me and who wrongfully interfered with Bella Vino’s business.
Statement from Matthew K. Rogers to The Paper
I’m proud to have represented Mr. Manolakas. He has faced difficult times over the last four years. Not only did he fight for Bella Vino’s survival through COVID, but he also has endured bad faith conduct by certain City officials. Standing up for himself in the face of the City’s formidable resources has not been easy.
The jury correctly and unanimously determined that Mr. Manolakas was damaged by numerous breaches of contract. Unfortunately, the City’s governmental immunity defenses allowed the City to avoid the jury considering evidence of malice, and Mr. Manolakas’s claims for defamation, malicious prosecution and tortious interference. I, like Mr. Manolakas, hope that the City will acknowledge and accept responsibility for its tortious conduct against Mr. Manolakas, rather than force further legal action to remedy these wrongs.
